Two Key ‘Game of Thrones’ Characters Skipping Season 5 (SPOILERS)

Game of Thrones is catching up to George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, as the series is just one season away from overtaking the books upon which they were based. This means certain characters whose storylines are basically all caught up with the books will need to take a backseat for the foreseeable future.

Two such characters are Bran and Hodor.

According to Hodor actor Kristian Nairn, he and Isaac Hempstead-Wright (who plays Bran) will have the season off.

“We have a season off and we have a year’s hiatus, solely because I imagine our storyline is up to the end of the books,” he said in an interview with Australia’s The ABC.

Naturally, HBO declined to comment. But it fits with the overall lack of information concerning shooting for Bran’s storyline, as we haven’t really come across many reports that Wright or Nairn have been filming on location. Or at all, really. Presumably, this means Ellie Kendrick — who plays Bran and Hodor’s companion, Meera Reed — will also have the year off, returning with Season 6 in 2016.

Ultimately, Bran’s story has been among the least popular among show watchers (and book fans, for that matter), so I’m not sure just how much of an uproar this is going to cause. That said, the Season 4 finale did end on arguably Bran’s most interesting story development yet, as he met the “Three-Eyed Raven” and “The Children of the Forest”, mystical beings capable of helping Bran unlock his true potential as a “greenseer”. But it’s looking like we’ll have a bit of a wait before we find out what’s next for the eldest trueborn Stark boy. Of course, as a book fan, I’m kind of used to being patient by now.